Currently, a subscriber to a telecommunications service provider is assigned a Universal Fleet Member Identifier (UFMI) number. This number is utilized in the Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN) dispatch network to route a dispatch call to that particular subscriber, in a manner similar to the way that a telephone number is used in a conventional telephone network. Thus, the UFMI number is the “telephone number” of a subscriber for dispatch calls in the iDEN network. This number may be, for example, 164*100*199. As is known, a dispatch call is commonly known as a “walkie-talkie” type of call, such as provided by Sprint Nextel Corporation and identified by the trade names Push-To-Talk (PTT) or Direct Connect. Thus, dispatch communications are half-duplex communications where only one person at a time is able to speak.
As the network for supporting such dispatch calls evolves from the iDEN technology to a next generation technology, e.g., Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), it will be required that the subscribers be assigned new UFMIs. Thus, as a subscriber is migrated to being serviced by the next generation network, a new UFMI will be required for that subscriber. This presents problems. For example, if an iDEN network subscriber attempts to make a dispatch call to a migrated subscriber on the next generation network by using the migrated subscriber's old iDEN UFMI, the dispatch call attempt will fail.
One approach for attempting to solve this problem is for the migrated subscriber himself or herself to provide each of the iDEN subscribers that want to contact him/her with their new number. However, for a variety of reasons, as can be understood, this is inconvenient and inefficient. Therefore, there is a need to provide a method and apparatus for mapping a newly assigned Universal Fleet Member Identifier (UFMI) of a migrated subscriber of an Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN) to a previously assigned UFMI when establishing a dispatch call.